After much discussion between the Board of Directors and the convention staff, given the circumstances, HMGS-South has announced it is cancelling HURRICON 2020. The show was to be held 24-27 September in Orlando, Florida.
Personally I believe, given all the events, this is the right choice. Below is a longer explanation by South president Scott Presley.
Hello Chapter Members and fellow hobbyists,
After being forced to cancel Recon 2020 in the spring, we all have been hopeful that we would get to do some gaming and gathering with friends in the autumn. That hope was tempered by clear eyes and common sense regarding the overarching realities under which we currently live but, none the less, that hope remained active. I am sad to say that hope dies today as we will be cancelling Hurricon 2020.
The Members of the Board of Directors and Convention Staff have been discussing a variety of issues, possibilities, problems and options related to the convention as well as ongoing developments and facts on the ground related to The Virus. As we all are aware, the demographics of our Chapter Membership and convention attendees skew heavily toward the "at higher risk" categories for age and underlying health conditions. That puts our show in a precarious position due to the limits put forth by the state of Florida. Yes, while group gatherings of up to 200 people are allowed at this phase of restrictions easing, there is a clause that specifically limits gatherings of those "at risk" groups to no more than 10. And even without limits on numbers, we face limits of proximity that would require a floor layout much more spread out than we are capable of executing. That does not address the very likely hard & fast policy requirements that the host hotel, as a public space, would put in place as far as masks, possibly gloves, and the number of people in one area and the space between them. Logistically, it would have been a nightmare and pretty unworkable.
We also have manpower and attendee issues to consider. Because of the risk factors faced by many in our Chapter community, the likelihood of admission numbers to be down by one-quarter or even one-third is significant. That possible reduction in attendees would have a direct effect on the final numbers of hotel room nights that we are contractually obligated to fulfill. As has been our business model since the beginning, guaranteed hotel room night reservations offset (but not eliminate) our costs to use the hotel's event space facilities.. Missing that goal activates a sliding scale of penalties based on how short the numbers are and a 25% to 33% loss of room nights would have been a very hard financial hit. (Please let me stress that such a hit would NOT have been fatal but it still would have been an ugly thing.)
With all of that in mind, several email exchanges brought us to the unfortunate and unwanted decision to start discussions with the hotel about cancelling the show. The contract, as should not be a surprise, does have a variety of clauses covering a wide range of issues pertaining to the event and this includes cancellation. If the hotel did not think that the current situation fell under "force majeure" terms, we would face penalties which, while not insignificant, would be far less than those mentioned above. Thankfully, at the end of two days of talks held via email, we have been allowed to cancel our show with ZERO penalty.. Our very solid business relationship, and the fact that we have contracts in place for multiple years already, helped with this resolution I am sure but they, too, see the difficulties present in running any sort of event like ours.
So, while we are relieved and happy (almost ecstatic to be honest) that there are no financial hardships resulting from this decision, we are incredibly saddened that we have to make this decision at all. But as the Chapter's Board of Directors, we have a responsibility to the well-being of the organization, its finances, and, most importantly, its Members. We think it is the right decision and we hope that you agree.
On a personal note, I am saddened and frustrated that I now have two cancelled HMGS-South conventions to mark my era as Chapter President. (You might be stuck with me for longer so I can get my average back up!) But I rather would have those emotions than be faced with reports of illness or worse amongst our Members and attendees some time after an open show because I didn't push to make the decision to cancel.
This may be The Year That Never Was and The Year Without Conventions but we will get through this and we will share in and celebrate our hobby as a group soon. Until then, be well and stay safe my friends.
Peace and respects to all of you,
Scott M. Presley
Chapter President
HMGS-South, Inc
reports from OrcCon 2008.
